November 2016 - InsureTech is the buzzword of the moment, with billions of dollars of investment flowing into start-ups focusing on the sector. From the point of view of investors, anything that has to do with using technology in the insurance industry can be labeled “InsureTech.”

Unfortunately, this broad term is not useful for incumbent insurers’ understanding of the many start-ups focused on the sector. This executive brief introduces Novarica’s “ABCs of InsureTech” framework to help insurers differentiate between Analytics Arms Dealers, Beneficial Bots, Creative Carriers, and Digital Distributors.

The first two categories, which are focused on helping insurers transform and compete, are likely to have a greater impact on incumbent insurers in the short-term than the direct competitors to existing carriers and distributors. But the latter two categories will offer useful examples of how to operate a digital insurer that will be copied by successful incumbents as they transform themselves.